we're surviving (without living)
by Allons-y Lovelies
Summary: Because they're both pretending that everything's alright. Marlene and Sirius and drinking to cope. Written for the All Sorts of Love Competition on HPFC, Non-Canon Love. Placed second in the comp. DRABBLE.


_Disclaimer: I don't own HP._

**we're surviving (without living)**

Marlene McKinnon liked to lie on the grass at night. She lay down near the Black Lake, to listen to the water gently wave against the ground. Sirius Black was fully aware of this, and liked to surprise her with his visits. Or, he liked to 'grace her with his presence', as he preferred to say.

"McKinnon," Sirius said, warning Marlene of his approach, prompting her to give him a lazy wave. "I'm coming over, and I've brought the booze and cigarettes." She spread herself out further, taking up as much room as possible.

"'Bout time, darling," she said. "I've been waiting for ages." He plopped down beside her, and wiggled into a comfortable position. She moved over to rest her head in the crook of his shoulder, and he moved to accommodate her.

"Sorry, love, but Rosie took a little longer to convince than usual," he said. "Guilty conscience, methinks."

Marlene snorted. "Do you blame her? You basically seduce her every week to get your firewhisky, and you're a student to boot. No wonder she's feeling less than charitable."

"Yeah, but my charm and good looks usually convince her without any trouble," he complained. "Shift, I want to open my drink and have a smoke. God, I've been waiting for this all day." He popped open the bottle's top, and then took a huge swig. He always did love the burn as the whisky went down. "That's better. Want some, McKinnon?" He offered her the bottle, amber liquid sloshing around inside.

"Nah, I want my smoke, first. These cravings are going to be the death of me," she said. "Pass me a fag, will you?" He tossed the whole pack over to her, and she ripped open the plastic, before she took a thin, white cigarette out from the carton. She popped it into her mouth, and let out a sigh of relief as she lit it with her wand. She inhaled sharply, letting the smoke fill her lungs. "God, that's better."

"McKinnon, I reckon that you've got an addiction," Sirius said, taking a smaller sip of alcohol this time.

Marlene schooled her features into an expression of shock. "Who, me? Whatever gave you that idea, Black?"

"Gee, could it possibly be your seven-fag-a-day habit?" he replied, ignoring her sarcasm. She took the cigarette out of her mouth (now stained with lipstick), and held out a hand for the alcohol. He passed it to her, and then removed a block of chocolate (Honeydukes, of course) from his pocket.

"Sirius," she said, a resigned look on her face as she slowly drew figures into the condensation on the bottle, "What're we going to do?"

He stopped trying to rip open the packet of chocolate, and sighed, knowing exactly what she was talking about. "I dunno, Marls. Survive?"

"After Hogwarts, we won't have Dumbledore to protect us. Actually, we won't have anyone to protect us. So what'll we do then?"

"Calm down, love. We'll work something out." Sirius finally opened the chocolate, and broke off a piece as Marlene took a calming drag from her cigarette. She exhaled slowly, watching the smoke mingle in the night air, and relaxed.

"I just don't know. James has already asked Lily to move in with him, afterwards."

That sentence finally got a real reaction out of Sirius. "That git! My best mate didn't even tell me that he asked. Merlin, I'm going to _throttle _him."

Marlene rubbed at her eyes. "Is it really any of your business, Sirius?" She took a drink from the bottle of firewhisky, and winced at the burn that fled down her throat.

He turned to her with a frown, and said, "He's my bloody best mate, McKinnon! I feel the burn of betrayal! It's rushing through my veins."

"That's the whisky, you twit," she laughed, giving him a little shove in the side. He lay down, clutching at his chest.

"Burn, McKinnon! I feel the burn!"

Hysterical laughter bubbled up from her chest as she watched her boyfriend rolling around on the ground, as if trying to put out invisible flames.

"Oh, shut it," she said, giving him a kiss. He tasted like whisky. "Stop acting like a moron." The real effect of her words was taken away by her giggles. He laughed as well, before reaching his head up to kiss her again.

"Let's head off, love," he said, a smile crinkling his eyes up. "I don't fancy being caught by Filch tonight. He's out for blood after the dungbomb incident."

"Alright. Let me finish off my smoke first."

Sirius sat up properly, and put an arm around her shoulders.

"Listen, McKinnon," he said, pulling her against him. "We'll be alright. We'll be fine."

All she did was take one last drag of her fag, giving him a level look.

"I'm sure that that would be more convincing if you yourself believed that, darling."

**Well, this is in (in the nick of time) for the All Sorts of Love Competition (fingers crossed). I'm kinda on the fence about this, and I might come back tomorrow and fix it up, because this was rushed to get it in on time.**

**Hope you're all great, and I hope that you, at least, enjoyed it!**

**Love,**

**Silvs**


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